Fool's Fate is a book by Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden who produces primarily fantasy fiction, although she has published some science fiction....

, the third in her Tawny Man Trilogy.

Plot summary

"Having the courage to find a better path is having the courage to risk making new mistakes."

Once assassin to the king, Fitz is now Skillmaster to Prince Dutiful's small band, sailing towards a future as uncertain as the waters that separate the Six Duchies from the distant Out Island of Aslevjal. His duty is to help the Prince fulfil the Narcheska Elliania's challenge: Bring her the head of the dragon, Icefyre, whom legends say is buried deep beneath the ice. Only after this task is complete will they be married and bring an end to war between their kingdoms.

It is not a happy ship: the serving boy, Thick (Who had down syndrome

Down syndrome

Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...

, and was named in a way consistent with the universe in which the story is set), is constantly ill/sea-sick, and his random but powerful Skilling takes on a dark and menacing tone, causing the sailors to regard him as a Jonah. Fitz, his Skill-dreams plagued by female voices and the beating of gigantic wings, is unhappy at leaving the Fool behind but is determined to keep the White Prophet from his fate on the isle of the black dragon; and Chade's fascination with the Skill is growing to the point of obsession.

There are other currents flowing in the Out Islands, for not everyone welcomes the idea of a foreign prince slaying the Aslevjal legend. So why is the Narcheska so intent on the dragon's death?

A reduced party finally arrives on the frozen island to be greeted by a familiar yet changed figure. What role does he have to play in the success or failure of the quest? His intentions are certainly at odds with Chade, who is determined to slay the dragon to secure peace, whatever the cost.

The tale of Fitz and the Fool, begun in Assassin's Apprentice, reaches its spectacular conclusion in Fool's Fate, in which kingdoms must stand or fall on the beat of a dragon's wings, or a Fool's heart.

The Wit and The Skill

Throughout the six books that make up the story of FitzChivalry and The Six Duchies "The Wit" and "the Skill" play a major role.

The Wit is the ability to communicate and bond telepathically with animals, While the Skill is the ability to telepathically communicate and influence fellow humans. Late, we learn that both abilities can do much more and few of the possibilities are rediscovered by the characters of the Farseer trilogy.

Throughout the story constant referrals are made by the characters that those possessing The Skill have reduced in number and ability, as its teaching was confined in order to keep it a secret weapon for the king. In the distant past those with the Wit were first revered, then considered odd, until the event with King Piebald that made everyone despise the Wit. Since then, the Wit has been feared by the majority of the common people for hundred of years, leading even to public executions by angry villager. This led many families to leave with their Wit kept secret, and some Wit families to leave with their own but clear of towns. By the end of the last book, efforts made by the Queen Kettricken contribute to a path in which, hopefully, will reduce the ignorance of common people towards the Wit and make it stop being despised.

In the past the King would be assisted/defended by several coteries of Skilled people, groupments that from the Skill Scrolls should at least include 6 members.

Some characters, such as Fitz, possess both abilities to a lesser or greater degree. There is the mention of other magics such as Hedgewitching and a few others (regarding elements such as water and fire), but they only play a minor role and not much is uncovered about them. An ancient scroll describes the circle of magics with relations one to another, meaning familiarities between some kind of magic and opposition between others. It's said that one who masters one magic can try learning the basics of related magics, but that one should never try to master all magics for mental problems or worse could ensue. The art of the Skill nearly got lost as for one period of time the only Skilled one in the Six Duchies and able to use it with knowledge of what he was doing was Fitz himself, and he was barely trained. However, since then, scrolls of the past Skillmaster have been discovered, Fitz's mentor who had been denied training with much effort became able of Skilling, and both Fitz's children are proficient at skilling. The scrolls helped them discovered a lot, and with the discovery of the Skill pillars, memory cubes and Elderling cities, they may hope one day to master the skill to a level comparable to the old skillmasters, for the Skill could truly do incredible things in the past. As of the end of the sixth book, Dutiful's coterie (Dutiful, Chade, Fitz, Nettle and Thick) are able at Skilling and twelve people answered the Calling, making a total of at least 17 Skilled ones. The Skill originates from the first King, an Outislander who conquered Buckkeep, and the commander of the Red Ship raiders was strong in the skill, so there would probably be people able of Skill in the Outislands, as well as some people in the Six Duchies who didn't answer the Calling, meaning a bright hope for the future of the Skill.

Editions

• A British English
  British English
  British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
  
   paperback edition was issued in London by Voyager/Harpercollins
  HarperCollins
  HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
  
   in 2004 with ISBN 0-00-711058-8. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.